As they reported in the Plant Biotechnology Journal, the researchers developed a transgenic strain of tobacco that both expressed human IL-10, a cytokine used to ameliorate inflammation, and exhibited diminished levels of alkaloids like nicotine. They then fed tobacco-laced chow to mice and looked at how well the mice tolerated the tobacco product and its impact on inflammatory response.

The researchers found that the low-alkaloid tobacco had no impact on general mouse viability. They also noted that not only did the recombinant IL-10 survive transit through the digestive tract, but it triggered decrease expression of TNF-α, an inflammatory cytokine, and generally improved gut histology.